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Aleaycia Banks
Gary Wilkens
ENG II-Sec 90A
9/20/2022

The Influence of Bad Behavior

Bad behavior displayed by parents such as physical violence, cursing, and drug use, can cause the same

behavior in their children. Within this essay I will explain the correlation between parents’ bad behaviors and

the adaptation of those behaviors by their children. Humans are a very impressionable species; the nature

children are raised in plays a large role in who they will become once they grow up. Our home environment and

the people we are surrounded by on a daily basis greatly largely effect our morals and values.

Children being exposed to physical by their parents/ guardians) are more likely to be physically

aggressive towards their peers according to the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. The social

learning theory discusses information that further explains the connection between parents’ aggression in front

of children and aggressive problem-solving strategies within those children (Duman, S., & Margolin, 2007).

Within the study conducted by the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, they stated, “

Investigators with samples of young children (Graham-Bermann & Levendosky, 1998) as well as adolescents

and young adults (Cantrell, MacIntyre, Sharkey, & Thompson, 1995; Levendosky, Huth-Bocks, & Semel,

2002; McCloskey & Lichter, 2003) report that youths’ exposure to marital aggression relates to their own

aggressive behavior with peers (Duman, S., & Margolin, 2007). Aside from that, children practice modeling of

their environment. Working in a afterschool child care program and job shadowing behind case managers, I

have seen children that a have a tough homelife (including violence) transpire those behaviors to their peers as

it’s the only way they had seen conflict be resolved growing up. A five-year- old male student punched his peer

because he felt like the boy was “laughing at him” or “making fun of him”, in his homelife his father was a

victim of gun violence and his parents fought often.

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Minors cursing at authoritative figures has become way more common within the last few decades.

What has changed? When getting to the core of what is prompting this behavior it’s evident that these behaviors

are being observed in home environments and going unaddressed. Words are a form of expression however, the

use of ‘bad words’ does not get the children’s message across to authoritative figures. However, due to these

children witnessing such communication, normally in heated martial arguments, it becomes how recognize to

express their feelings (Duman, S., & Margolin, 2007). This would be considered mirroring in psychology.

Mirroring is considered, “behavior in which one person subconsciously imitates the gesture, speech pattern, or

attitude of another (Korotkov, 2018).” Children usually mirror someone they see of high power- which

normally begins at home.

Children who witnessed drug use by their parents are more likely to develop a drug addiction. In fact, it

has been concluded that they are twice as likely to develop a drug addiction, if they had parents that were drug

addicts (Nones, 2022). The National Drug Abuse Institute stated about 25% of Americans grow up in a drug-

abuse home environment (Nones, 2022). The Family Medicine for Americas health reported that, “An estimated

20 million Americans aged 12 and up (8 percent of the population) had used an illegal substance for the past 30

days (Nones, 2022).” Which is an alarming number of children. These children who were raised by parents that

struggle with addiction are at a heighted chance to develop emotional or behavioral problems and display poor

performance in school (Nones, 2022).

Some will argue that people have free will. The evidence provided in this paper shows that parents bad

behavior does in fact impact their children’s behaviors. Especially families that struggle with drug abuse and

have physical violence within their homes.

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Work Cited

Duman, S., & Margolin, G. (2007). Parents’ Aggressive Influences and Children's Aggressive Problem

Solutions with Peers. Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of

Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53, 36(1), 42.

https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp3601_5

Korotkov. (2018, November 24). Mirroring in psychology. The Biointernet Mirror. Retrieved September 22,

2022, from https://mirror.thebiointernet.com/mirroring-in-psychology/#:~:text=Mirroring%20in%20psychology

%20Mirroring%20is%20the%20behavior%20in,in%20the%20company%20of%20close%20friends%20or

%20family.

Nones, A. D. A. (2022, August 30). Are kids with drug abusing parents likely to become addicted too? . Family

Medicine for America's Health. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://fmahealth.org/kids-drug-abusing-

parents/